New Zealand (NZ) has one of the most stringent approval regimes for GMOs in the world (USDA FAS 2010). No GM crops are grown in NZ, the importation of GMOs is strictly regulated, and all GMO foods and ingredients must be approved and labeled (Buchanan 2014). While public opinion strongly favors NZ remaining “gene editing free”, many natural scientists and businesses argue that the technology is necessary to address a host of problems confronting agriculture (Whitehead 2018).
In 2017, an expert panel, together with an indigenous Māori reference group, was set up by the Royal Society Te Apārangi, a scientific statutory body, to consider the “wider social, cultural, legal and economic implications of gene editing” and its potential uses in NZ (Royal Society Te Apārangi, 2018). In August 2019, the panel released its conclusion that there is an urgent need for public discussion about gene editing and for NZ’s GMO regulations to be overhauled.
Climate change is emerging as a central sociotechnical imaginary among proponents of gene editing. In 2019, an open letter to the Green Party signed by over 150 young biological and environmental scientists argued that overhauling NZ’s strict GMO legislation is urgently needed to tackle the climate crisis. Intellectual property access and control is another emerging sociotechnical imaginary. Indigenous scholars and activists argue that any regulatory revision for gene editing must protect Māori access and control related to the intellectual property of Māori “taonga [precious] species” (Hudson et al., 2019).
In 2017, an expert panel, together with an indigenous Māori reference group, was set up by the Royal Society Te Apārangi, a scientific statutory body, to consider the “wider social, cultural, legal and economic implications of gene editing” and its potential uses in NZ (Royal Society Te Apārangi, 2018). In August 2019, the panel released its conclusion that there is an urgent need for public discussion about gene editing and for NZ’s GMO regulations to be overhauled.
Climate change is emerging as a central sociotechnical imaginary among proponents of gene editing. In 2019, an open letter to the Green Party signed by over 150 young biological and environmental scientists argued that overhauling NZ’s strict GMO legislation is urgently needed to tackle the climate crisis. Intellectual property access and control is another emerging sociotechnical imaginary. Indigenous scholars and activists argue that any regulatory revision for gene editing must protect Māori access and control related to the intellectual property of Māori “taonga [precious] species” (Hudson et al., 2019).